"Coco Gauff is gonna come back and win this thing again" - Emma Navarro after beating defending champion in US Open 2024 4R
Emma Navarro continued her breakthrough 2024 season at the US Open by knocking out defending champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the tournament. This was Navarro's second consecutive win over the American No. 1.
Navarro began the fourth contest against Gauff on the front foot and matched the young American's powerful groundstrokes with clever court craft and longer rallies. Navarro dominated the match by going a set and a break up on Gauff, but the latter fought back well to level the score in the second set.
Navarro was undeterred by Gauff's late resilience in the second set and picked up her level in the decider. She took advantage of the 20-year-old's frequent lapse in concentration and broke her twice to win the match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. For the most part, Gauff was the architect of her own demise, hitting 60 unforced errors and an incredible 19 double faults.
Consequently, Emma Navarro has now qualified for her second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 23-year-old was over the moon and had kind words to say about Coco Gauff in her post-match on-court interview. Navarro praised Gauff and pegged her to win the US Open again despite failing to defend the title this year.
"It’s pretty insane. I lost first round the last two years. Now to be in the quarterfinals is insane. It’s the city I was born in. It feels so special to play here. Coco is an amazing player. I have a ton of respect for her. I know she’s gonna come back and win this thing again," Emma Navarro said.
Interestingly, this is the second time Navarro reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal after beating Gauff in the fourth round. The first instance was at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Emma Navarro to face Paula Badosa in US Open QF after win over Coco Gauff
Emma Navarro is now set to face Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals of the 2024 US Open. Both women will play their maiden quarterfinal at the tournament and vie for a berth in the first Grand Slam semifinal of their career. Navarro, seeded 13th in New York, has so far defeated Anna Blinkova, Arantxa Rus, 16th seed Marta Kostyuk, and third seed Coco Gauff.
Meanwhile, 26th seed Paula Badosa has continued her fantastic form on the North American hard court swing at the 2024 US Open. The Spaniard won her first title in over two years at the WTA 500 Citi Open in Washington, DC, and backed it up with a semifinal appearance at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open.
At Flushing Meadows, Badosa bettered Viktorija Golubic, Taylor Townsend, Elena Gabriela-Ruse, and Wang Yafan to reach her second Grand Slam quarterfinal. Badosa and Navarro have played each other once on the WTA Tour, with the former winning the contest at the 2024 Italian Open.